Watch out, Boks … Ireland are here early and snooping around

A pretty useful fortnight: that’s what the Irish national men’s rugby team brains trust are sure to be thinking right now.

The simultaneous presence for two United Rugby Championship games each in South Africa of the country’s longtime "big two" clubs – Leinster and Munster – helps attune a batch of the key internationals on their books for the demands of a cracking Test series against the Springboks in early July.

URC title-holding Munster, tackling the Bulls in a high-stakes fixture at Loftus on Saturday (17:05), won't be massively thrilled about the next also being at altitude, as the Lions then host them.